


Thank You For Being My Home

by A_Suga_Cookie



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: A VERY SMALL SMALL SMALL HINT, A hint of smut, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe, Beaches, CHENLE IS THEIR CHILD, Crying, FROM HOME MV, Heavy Angst, Hospitals, How Do I Tag, Hurt No Comfort, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I am so sorry Taeil and Chenle :(, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Kunil are parents, M/M, Marriage, Mild Language, Not Beta Read, Ocean, References to Depression, Sad Ending, Single Parent Moon Taeil, There's A Tag For That, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, WHY AM I ALWAYS MAKING EVERYONE CRY WTF, Why Did I Write This?, kunil, photographer Taeil, sequel coming soon.......
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:42:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27189505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Suga_Cookie/pseuds/A_Suga_Cookie
Summary: “D-Daddy I miss Papa. When is he coming home?”Taeil felt himself stop breathing harshly and his chest tightened unpleasantly. He felt his mind go blank as he wordlessly looked away from his son. He tries to blink away his growing misty eyes.He wipes Chenle’s remaining tears as his voice wavers emotionally. He really saw a bit of Kun every time he looked at Chenle. He couldn’t get himself to tell his son the truth without breaking down all over again. He hugs his son tightly, afraid that if he lets him go, he would lose him too.“Papa will be home soon baby”.
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Lee Taeyong, Moon Taeil/Qian Kun
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32





	Thank You For Being My Home

**Author's Note:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS: MENTIONS OF IMPLIED DEATH OF CHARACTER AND IMPLIED ALCOHOL ABUSE. IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE ABOUT THESE MATTERS, YOUR HEALTH COMES FIRST AND IS THE UPMOST IMPORTANCE TO ME! PLEASE CLICK OFF AND I'LL SEE YOU IN THE NEXT ONE!
> 
> I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY!
> 
> Twitter: A_Suga_Cookie1
> 
> -ASC ❀◐⌣◐

The chilly, winter breeze of Seoul thumps rhythmically as the ocean waves sing out faintly. The gentle, clement morning sun reflected from Taeil’s madake bedroom window and peck him softly, highlighting the latter’s sleeping features. Taeil grumbles as he turns away from the bright light, tucking himself deeper into his duvet, his unruly, honey-blind fringe falling messily over his eyes. 

He felt the bed dip a bit as a pair of little legs kicked him and held onto his upper leg for support as they struggled to climb up his bed. He grunted when a sudden weight jumped onto his stomach and bounce slightly. He couldn’t make out what they were saying as a pair of lips kissed him clumsily on his cheek. He softly mumbles as he tries to rub away the sleepiness from his eyes, not even bothering to see who it was. 

“Kunnie, five more minutes please~”

He heard some high pitch giggling as a pair of small hands cup his face and squish his cheeks slightly. 

“DADDY, IT’S ME, LELE!”, Chenle chortles loudly next to Taeil’s ear, causing the latter to wince at the sudden, excited shouting. 

Taeil blinks a few times and looks up slightly from his pillow. He sees his son smiling brightly down at him, his eyes crinkling against his pale skin and his pretty, profound dimples appearing against his chubby cheeks. Taeil delicately grins as he opens his arms. Chenle promptly falls into his arms, wrapping his own stout ones around Taeil’s neck. The latter chuckles as he sheathes his arms tenderly around the younger and cuddles closer to him, the younger’s silky black hair grazes against him lightly. He lifts his hand and thumbs Chenle's overgrown bangs gently away from his eyes, revealing his chocolate-brown, doe-like eyes. 

“Did you sleep well baobei?”, Taeil asked softly, voice still glazed with sleepiness. 

“Yes daddy, I did!”, Chenle says while nodding his head fervently, causing his hair to bounce a little bit with every head movement. 

“I also brushed my own teeth and got ready all on my own like a big boy! Do I look pretty, daddy?”, Chenle chimes in as he puffs out his chest in child-like pride. 

Taeil gasps and coos softly at the younger. He smiles fondly at Chenle. The younger was wearing different colored socks on each of his tiny feet His hair was sticking up in multiple areas in what looked like a half attempt to sweep his hair up like Taeil did when he went to work at the little photography shop down the road. Taeil noticed the little tag of his t-shirt was sticking out in the front. Chenle was wearing his shirt backward. 

Others may think that Chenle looks ridiculous. Taeil thought Chenle was the most beautiful and handsome baby boy he had ever seen regardless of what he looks like. He comically gives him Chenle a thumbs up, causing the younger to squeal behind his hands, hiding his growing smile. Taeil tries not to giggle at his son’s cute antics.

He must have gotten that habit from Kun.

“Of course you look pretty Lele~”.

Taeil pauses as he watches Chenle intensely look at the shirt tag and curiously play with it, trying to read the small scripture on it to Taeil. He laughs softly. 

“Can I help you fix your shirt baby?”, Taeil coerces gently as he reaches toward Chenle. 

Chenle nods shyly as he lifts his hands up and Taeil slides the shirt off and turns it around. He pulls the shirt over Chenle's head and through his arms. He smoothed and adjusted his shirt, looking at the little brown bear printed in front of the fabric before he noticed something oddly familar about it. 

Taeil and Kun bought him this shirt when they first got Chenle and the three went to the local farmer’s market near their old apartment in Busan. Taeil remembers the twinkling in Chenle’s eyes when he saw the bear shirt on the hanger and how he kept on pointing at Kun, calling him in broken Korean “아빠 곰” (Papa Bear).

Kun’s melodious, allaying laughter reverberated through Taeil’s mind as his heart pangs tortuously at the now withdrawn memory. 

Taeil rubs his eyes rather roughly as he turns to see the rustic clock next to his bedside 

9:35 A.M

Taeil needed to get up and start preparing breakfast for him and Chenle. Almost as if on cue, Chenle’s stomach rumbles thunderously and the younger down, looking almost offended by the noise. Taeil snorts. 

“Hungry?”

“Yeah, daddy”. 

“Can you wait for me while I finish getting ready, baobei?”

Chenle bobs his head up and down as Taeil grins as he tucks his hands under Chenle’s arms and helps him climb off the bed. His eyes follow the back of his son’s head as he awkwardly totters away and he sighs fondly. He sinks back idly onto his bed frame. It was only him and Chenle now but it was good to still be able to wake up to someone he really loves. Even if it's in the form of sloppy, gawish kisses, recurrent, prurient pokes to his eyes, and high-pitched, dolphin-like screeches that resounds too closely to his ear almost every time. 

Taeil stretches his arms over his head and groans when the joints in his back popped stridently. He groggily gets out of bed as he sibilates when the frigid floor comes in contact with the soles of his feet. He slips on the snow-white pair of bedroom slippers near the base of the bed and quivers slightly. He tiredly sighs as he draws his feet toward the bathroom. 

~✽✾✿❀❁❃❋~✽✾✿❀❁❃❋~✽✾✿❀❁❃❋

The aromas of different spices and herbs filled the house as Taeil rumbled through the shelf feverishly, only balancing on his tippy toes and gripping onto the adjacent shelf for support. 

“Where did I place the paprika”, he murmurs to himself as he pushes past a few miscellaneous bottles. 

After what seemed like ages of looking for it, he found the red substance and cheered. He unscrewed the top and sprinkled it gingerly into the pot of seaweed soup simmering in front of him on the stove. He stirs it, watching the pieces of seaweed swirl around gracefully. Taeil blows on the thermal substance before tasting it, humming. 

“It’s done”, he thought as he turned the stove off, the flame eventually vanishing into non-existence. 

He bends down and picks up two bowls from the bottom shelf, an ash-gray, ceramic one and a Totoro themed one. He carefully dumps the soup content into each bowl. Taeil reaches into the fridge and pulls out a bottle of apple juice and pours it into an aqua blue sippy bottle for Chenle and pours himself a steaming cup of black coffee from their mint-green kreurig. 

Taeil balances out all the dishes in his hands while he calls out to Chenle.

“LELE? BAOBEI, BREAKFAST IS READY!” 

He sets the dishes down onto the table when he hears a pair of fast, little footsteps running rapidly his direction. He sees a blur of messy black hair rush at him and before he could brace himself, it collides directly into him. Taeil grunts and stumbles back a bit as the blur giggles loudly against his legs. 

“Yah, Chenle! What did I say about doing that?”, Taeil chides slightly as he helps the younger in his chair. Chenle responds by simply sticking his tongue out at Taeil in child-like mockery. 

Taeil sighs as he lowers himself in a chair across from Chenle. He loved his son to pieces but he can feel himself growing gray from his son’s antics almost every day.  
He serenely watches Chenle eat for a bit before he is distracted by a violent buzz against the paysan table. He tears his attention away from his son as he sits down and picks up his phone. He turns it on and his homescreen of him and Chenle smiling brightly at the camera shines brightly against his already-tired and worn out features. He had a few missed calls from his mom and a couple of texts from Taeyong. The latter was inviting him and Chenle to dinner with his husband Doyoung and their twins, Jaemin and Jeno. Taeil smiled brightly. It’s been a while since he has seen the couple and their children since…….well. 

Taeil calls Chenle’s name gently, knowing his son gets startled easily. Another habit he got from Kun. 

“Hey Chenle, Do you want to go to dinner with Nono and Minnie?”

Instead of a normal excited “yes” or squall he would hear from his son at the mere mention of his two closest friends, silence greeted him. Taeil looks up worryingly and sees Chenle leave his now cold food bascially untouched and the latter staring off at something behind him. He noticed his son’s bottom lip tremble slightly and panic blossom thorn through him. He knew something was wrong almost instantly. 

Taeil hastily texts a response back to Taeyong before turning off his phone hastily and rushing to his son’s side, anxiety gnawing sickly in his chest. He crouches right next to his son and cautiously places his hand on the younger’s thigh. He arches his neck to try to see his son’s face and calls out to him. 

“Baobei? Hey, Baby? Are you okay?”, Taeil asks as he bites his lips in nervousness. Was Chenle sick? Did Taeil hurt his feelings earlier when he scolded him? Was there something going on in school that Chenle wasn’t telling him? Thoughts and worst case scenarios were rushing through Taeil's head.

He anxiously watches as Chenle huffs and turns toward him. Taeil felt his heartbreak into a million pieces when he noticed his son’s naive chocolate brown, doe-like eyes were filled to the brim with tears and cascading slowly against his porcelain skin. 

Taeil swiftly reaches up and wipes his tears, whispers sweet nothings to him and engulfing him into his arms. He felt Chenle cry softly into his shoulder as Taeil raked his hand through his son’s silky black hair, trying to desperately comfort him. They stayed like this for a while before Chenle lifted his head and looked at Taeil. If Taeil felt like he wasn’t about to be sick of concern, he would have cooed at the younger's adorably rosy cheeks and bright red nose. 

“D-Daddy I miss Papa. When is he coming home?”

Taeil felt himself stop breathing harshly and his chest tightened unpleasantly. He felt his mind go blank as he wordlessly looked away from his son. He tries to blink away his growing misty eyes as he looks back to see what Chenle was looking at earlier. 

It was a little rustic, auburn bookshelf Taeil built when he and Kun first moved in together. The shelf was littered with different kinds of photo frames of Chenle growing up. The most notable one was in a midnight black frame in different kinds of stones. It was when Kun and Taeil first adopted Chenle. Kun was smiling down at a sleeping bundle while Taeil was kissing him on the cheek. Taeil smiles bitterly at the photo. The happy tears he cried that day were long gone. He remembers how nervous Kun was picking up their son after weeks of different background checks, paperwork, and a lot of waiting. The day they became parents.

“Hyung, what happens if he doesn’t like us”? 

“Baby, don’t worry”.

“Baobei, I’m really nervous”. 

“ I know you are sweetheart, take a few deep breaths for me.......that's it baobei, keep going”. 

“Taeil Hyung, what if I'm not good enough to be a parent”?  
“Kunnie, you are going to be an amazing dad. WE will be amazing parents. I will walk by you through this journey, no matter how hard it is baby”. 

Next to the frame was a picture of Kun jumping up and smiling prettily at Taeil when they went on their very first date. Next to their wedding photo was a selfie that Kun took of the two when they went to the beach, the same beach that Taeil proposed to Kun. Chenle’s awards and artworks hang proudly above the frames and next to little miscellaneous antics that Kun use to collect over the years.  
Taeil’s eyes laid on a wooden plank. Two wedding rings hang from the edge, glistening elegantly under the sunlight. He recognizes his husband's handwriting carved beautifully across the piece of kindling. 

“We may be away from home, but we always find our way back”. 

Each photo and item on that shelf dragged hum through the pits of nostalgia and told a story that he can never replay without wanting to lock himself away in sadness and never leaving the never-ending cycle.

Taeil felt his heart yearn for comfort and longing as he fiercely blinked back tears, struggling to not burst into tears in front of his son. 

Taeil slowly cups Chenle’s face. He holding his whole world, his only world, and his last world delicately in his hands. He notices Chenle’s eyes twinkling like the stars decorate the sky on a rare quiet night in Seoul. Chenle always had the same gentle, brown, doe-like eyes as Kun did. Both pairs of eyes sparkle in curiosity and twinkle in a sea of gentleness and kindness.  
People used to joke all the time and say that they look more like brothers than father and son. 

He really saw a bit of Kun every time he looked at Chenle.

He wipes Chenle’s remaining tears as his voice wavers emotionally. Taeil couldn’t get himself to tell his son the truth without breaking down all over again. He hugs his son tightly, afraid that if he lets him go, he would lose him too. 

“Papa will be home soon baby”.

~✽✾✿❀❁❃❋~✽✾✿❀❁❃❋~✽✾✿❀❁❃❋

After breakfast, Taeil was finishing cleaning up and placing a Tupperware of leftover Seaweed soup in the fridge when he felt someone tug on the leg of his pants. He closes the fridge and looks down to see Chenle playing with the cloth and biting his lip nervously. 

“Daddy”?

He smiles softly as he crouches down so he was at eye level with the younger. Chenle picks at the skin of his fingers and looks down at his feet shyly. Taeil patiently waits for him to answer him as he gently prys his hands apart, preventing the younger from possibly hurting himself

“What’s up Lele”?

“Can we go to the beach”?, Chenle asks timidly, still not looking at Taeil. 

Taeil’s smiles widen. Chenle has always loved the beach ever since Kun and he took him there for the first time. He remembers the curiosity in his eyes when the younger first saw the glistening, clear-blue ocean. They would spend hours running through the warm sand and swimming in the ocean together, the younger squealing as Taeil would chase him around as Kun would watch fondly from a distance. At the end of the day, they would all collapse in each other's arms, laughing out loud without giving a care to the world. Kun always use to joke that Chenle got his love for the ocean from Taeil. 

Now Taeil completely hates the ocean. 

“Beach? What about Nono and Minnie Baobei? Do you not want to play with them”, Taeil says with a hint of teasing in his voice. He tries not to laugh as his son’s eyes widen and shake his head violently. 

“NO DADDY, I WANT TO GO PLAY WITH THEM! But can we also go to the beach? Please?”, Chenle says as his eyes glitter with juvenile anticipation and a small pout forming on his reddish-pink lips. Oh no, not the puppy eyes. 

God, Moon Taeil is so weak for his son. 

Taeil pretends to think about it before nodding his head. It was the weekend and it's been a while since he or Chenle have been to the beach ever since Kun faded away from them. While Taeil never wanted to step onto another beach ever again, it would be selfish of him to enforce his son to do the same. 

“Alright, we can go. Go get ready then baby”, Taeil says. He laughs when Chenle cheers loudly and runs into his room to go get changed, tumbling slightly over his mix-matched feet. 

Taeil cups his hands over his hands and tries to yell out to his son as he watches Chenle’s retreating form.”. 

“YAH, BE CAREFUL BABY! DON’T RUN IN SOCKS! MAKE SURE TO WEAR SOMETHING WARM OKAY? IT'S GETTING COLD”!

“OKAY DADDY”!

Taeil shakes his head fondly when he hears the younger's door click shut. He beelines into the living room as exhaustion suddenly hits him like a truck. He lowers himself down onto the couch and slumps back, the piece of furniture creaking softly under him. Quietness engulfs the house except for the rheumatic ticks of the clock and his own heartbeat. Taeil couldn’t get over what happened earlier at breakfast. It wasn’t the first time Chenle has asked for Kun. Every single time, Taeil feels his heartthrob painfully at the mere mention of Kun. Taeil sighs as he digs his head into his hands, little colors popping into his vision. 

There were plenty of tough nights without Kun. Chenle started misbehaving and getting into fights with the other kids at school and Taeil spent more and more time in the principal's office than he did at work. On the nights that Chenle would throw horrid temper tantrums and hysterically cry, Taeil would end up crying to himself out of frustration when Chenle exhausted himself and fell asleep in Taeil’s lap. He never got used to waking up to the empty, unused side of the bed and seeing Kun’s “K” coffee mug sit untouched as dust gathered around the exterior. There was one night Chenle got extremely sick and Taeil had no idea what to do. He kept on calling Kun to rush home but he was only greeted by the robotic voice of the voicemail and not his husband’s honey-like voice. Johnny found Taeil sobbing brokenly on the hospital floor and stayed the whole night and kept him company until Taeil passed out from fatigue into the safety of Johnny’s arms. The worst nights when Taeil lost control and came home drunk and wasted, reeking of liquor. Out of anger, he would pick up the nearest thing near him and break it, screaming violently for someone to just take away his misery and for anyone to just help him feel human again, begging to feel his husband's warmth breathe against his neck and heartbeat against his chest one more time. He would then fall asleep and repeat the same recurring nightmare with a severe hangover, his throat feeling like sandpaper, and remaining fractured pieces of his heart and his soul.

He really can never thank Taeyong, Doyoung, and Johnny enough for basically saving him from spiraling any further down this dark, catastrophic hole. He vividly remembers the night Taeil got so drunk that he wasn’t able to even stand straight. Taeyong got a call from Chenle crying hysterically on the line as the younger boy tried fervently to wake up Taeil and bring him inside and the three men drove straight to his house. He and Taeyong got into a verbal altercation after he manage to wake up. Taeyong angrily reprimanded him for being so irresponsible and for the first time ever, Taeil fought back without caring about loosing everything. He felt like he lost his everything. That everything was what kept him alive. He was dead man walking. Doyoung stood in between them and their voices grew louder as it echoed violently through the house. 

“HYUNG WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO YOURSELF? LOOK HOW DRUNK YOU ARE”!

“SHUT THE FUCK UP TAEYONG. I’M FINE”!

“NO YOU ARE NOT HYUNG, I’M TRYING TO HELP YOU BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT YOU AND CHENLE”

“THEN STOP CARING”!

“TAEIL HYUNG PLEASE! YOU NEED HELP! I DON’T WANT TO FIGHT YOU, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE THIS INTOXICATED. THINK ABOUT CHENLE? IMAGINE HOW HE WOULD FEEL SEEING YOU LIKE THIS? WHAT ABOUT KUN? HAVE YOU FORGETTEN HIM ALREADY? DO YOU KNOW HOW DEVASTA-”

“DON’T EVEN FUCKING SAY HIS NAME”!

Jeno and Jaemin, while they were scared of all the shouting and yelling, hugged Chenle protectively as Johnny tried to cover Chenle’s ears from hearing all the commotion in the other room and trying to comfort the crying younger boy. The latter sobbed into Johnny’s chest, thrashing around compellingly and screaming for his papa as he grips onto Johnny's shirt. 

“I WANT MY PAPA! I’M SCARED! WHY IS DADDY YELLING? BRING PAPA BACK! PLEASE UNCLE JOHNNY! PLEASE, I WANT PAPA”. 

Taeil pauses as he hears his son’s wails for Kun and he completely breaks apart. He crumples into Taeyong’s awaiting arms, wailing into the latter's shoulder. Taeyong and him lower to onto the ground as Taeil sobs brokenly. He has become a monster. He knows Kun would hate him for doing this to himself and Chenle. He lost control. Taeyong holds onto Taeil as he rocks the sobbing boy, shushing him and comforting him as Doyoung rushes and drops to his knees next to Taeyong's and Taeil's side. 

“Hyung, I got you, It’s okay. It will be okay”. 

Things were better now ever since that night. Taeil got a new job as a photographer and Chenle was doing far better in school and both seem to be doing somewhat okay. It almost like everything in life went back to normal but he still felt like something was missing. Deep down, he was still broken inside. There was nothing that could fill that emptiness in his heart except the photo frames on that little auburn shelf. Taeil never forgave himself for that night even though Kun would have in a heartbeat. He knew right away, he had to stay strong for Chenle. For his son. For his and Kun’s son. For Kun. 

Taeil groans as he gets up from the couch and makes his way into his once-shared room with the younger Chinese male. He opens his closet and slips out of his warm pajamas and into a pair of jeans and an overlarge worn-out beige knitted sweater. It was Kun’s favorite. Taeil bought it for him for his birthday and the younger beamed so brightly that even gave the sun some competition. He remembers seeing Kun wearing it everywhere and anywhere he went. Now it sits quietly in Taeil’s closet camouflaged with his other clothes. 

His lavender-vanilla perfume was still on it. Taeil felt Kun’s warm hugs on a chilly night where they stayed up late while Chenle was asleep. They would sip on red wine and laugh at each other's reddening cheeks, eventually falling asleep in the warming solace of each other’s arms. In the morning, they would wake up to Chenle sandwiched between them, kissing both his dads' cheeks, wishing them “good morning”. 

He closes his closet and sighs profoundly, massaging his temples tiredly. He breaks out of his never-ending thoughts when hears Chenle calling from a distance for him. He quickly reaches for the little leather camera bag on his nightstand before walking out the door. 

“DADDY, I’M READY”!

“I’M COMING CHENLE”

~✽✾✿❀❁❃❋~✽✾✿❀❁❃❋~✽✾✿❀❁❃❋

Chenle bounces excitedly next to him with a baby blue sand bucket hitting lightly against his leg as they walk across the street, gripping tightly to Taeil's bigger hand. Once they cross, they feel the balmy sand kiss the souls of their shoes and the serene waves of the ocean as they walk to their normal residing place every time they come to the beach. Taeil sets down their stuff on the decaying wooden table and places his camera bag on the bench. He removes Chenle’s shoes and warns him to not go too far down the beach as the younger abided and runs off to go find some seashells. 

After Taeil finishes setting up the table, he looks up and finds Chenle crouched over with a magnifying glass he got in the prize box at school, inspecting a seashell intensely. Taeil chuckles fondly. Kun was right about one thing. Chenle loves everything about the ocean just as Taeil used to. He was just as curious about the life around him as Taeil once was. Taeil lifts up his camera and takes a photo of the memory. 

“DADDY! COME HERE!”, Chenle calls out to him excitedly as Taeil smiles. The latter slips off his sandals and picks up his camera as he makes his way toward his son, the sand tickling him with every step he took. He reaches Chenle and looks down to see Chenle hold up a handful of seashells, his doe-like eyes flicker in innocent gaiety. 

“Aren’t they pretty”?

Taeil crouches and notices the different colors and shapes of seashells in his hand. He gently grins as he pinches his son’s cheek, causing the younger to squeal in protest. 

“They are very pretty baby”. 

Chenle smiles at Taeil pleasingly as he continues.

“I am going to go find more and we can make a seashell collection like you did when you were younger Daddy”!

Taeil smiles proudly at him and he ruffles his hair fondly and Chenle giggles behind his little hands. He watches as Chenle runs off to go find some more. He remembers one day when Chenle couldn’t sleep and Kun was at work, he told him about the seashell collection he had when he was younger and how he used to live right next to the beach.

Taeil's eyes draw toward the buoyant waves of the eloquent ocean as he walks toward the edge. He felt the chilling water splash delicately around his bare feet. The soft sand caressed him as the winter winds of Seoul blew through his hair. He can recognize the flora of the salty ocean better than even the most experienced sailors. He snaps a photo of the sunset lounging lazily above the oceanview. 

He scrolls through his camera roll. He smiles at the photo when he looks at the photo of Chenle smiling proudly with the seashells in his stubby hands. He keeps scrolling, fondly reminiscing on each tale of every photo until he halts on a particular photo. It was a photo of him, Kun, and Chenle smiling radiantly at the camera, happiest they ever were while the ocean and the sunset peak magnificently behind them. He traces his finger absently around Kun’s beguiling face as his heart began to nostalgically ache. 

It was like yesterday he came here with Kun.

~✽✾✿❀❁❃❋~✽✾✿❀❁❃❋~✽✾✿❀❁❃❋  
FLASHBACK 

“PAPA, LOOK WHAT DADDY’S DOING”, Chenle squeals as he shakes his other father’s arm urgently to get his attention. Kun looks up from the lunch he prepared for all of them and spots Taeil pointing a camera at them. He laughs profoundly at his husband’s antics as he notices Taeil’s growing smile from behind the camera. Chenle looks between Kun and Taeil with a look of pure confusion plastered across his features. 

Kun waves at the camera enthusiastically. He lifts Chenle into his lap and points toward Taeil. 

“Smile for the camera baobei”. 

They both pose for Taeil and he clicks the button of the camera and takes a photo of the two. He looks at it for a few moments before giving an approving nod and a big thumbs up.  
Chenle mimics Kun as he giggles behind his small hands at his daddy’s frolics. Kun smiled down at his son affectionately before turning his attention to his husband. 

“Honey, why don’t we take one together? Mom’s been asking me to send a photo of all of us together”, Kun says before playfully pouting and widening his eyes, making his doe-like eyes glitter under the golden beams of the sun. 

Normally if it was someone else, Taeil would cringe out of secondhand embarrassment. But this was Qian Kun. Every time his husband acts cute, his heart does a 360 degree flip in his chest and butterflies flutter in his stomach. 

Moon Taeil is whipped for Kun to put it most simply. 

Taeil admires his husband’s body from top to bottom and he bites his lip. The sunlight made Kun look even more handsome than he already was and highlighted the Chinese male's anatomy. Kun's clothing cling slightly to his toned body and his hair was messy and sweaty after chasing Chenle around for almost 15 minutes. Kun's little earring twinkle brightly against the Seoul summer light. He suddenly smirks and leans toward Kun, whispering something in his ear, while placing his arm around the younger's lower back suggestively. 

Kun blushes bright red and slaps Taeil’s arm

“Y-Y-YAH HYUNG, STOP THAT! OUR SON IS HERE”, he sputters incoherently as Taeil crackles loudly. 

Kun sets up Taeil’s camera on the bench and hits the timer button before running back to the other two. They huddled close to each other and Taeil was instructing Chenle to look at the camera. The wind ruffling their hair and the ocean spraying them slightly as they wait for the countdown to be over and their photo to be taken. Taeil felt Kun slip his hand on his lower back and around his waist. He felt something blossom in his chest pleasantly. He looks back at his family fondly. The two people he loves the most in his life were right next him, safely in his arms. This was his home. He has never been so happy in his entire life. 

3, 2, 1

CLICK!

Taeil and Kun held each other’s hand tightly as they relaxingly walked against the edge of the frigid, ocean water, the sand below them burned their souls slightly with every step. Chenle had fallen asleep nearby on a bench and the two parents decided to steal some time for themselves, even if it was 5 minutes. They bumped shoulders as the sunset, reflecting an array of magenta across the ocean. The salt of the ocean winds pecks them gently as they both bask in each other’s presence. 

Taeil suddenly stops and turns Kun to face him. He looks deeply into the glistening chocolate-brown, doe-like eyes he fell in love with. The magenta rays made Kun’s skin almost look like glass and highlighted each curve and arch gracefully. 

Kun tilts his head at his husband’s actions. Why did Taeil suddenly stop him?  
“Baby, what’s up”? 

“Nothing, just admiring you”. 

“Hey, that’s not gonna work on me Hyungie~ What’s wrong? Come on, I can read through you like a book. We have known each other since middle school”. 

Taeil thumbs his hands as he gently tucks a piece of Kun’s silky, dark brown hair behind the younger’s ear, moving closer to Kun. He looks at Kun lovingly as the younger held his breath. His whole world. He considered himself the luckiest man in the world to wake up every day next to Kun and spend the rest of his life with him until his lungs give out. 

“I love you so much, thank you for the family you gave me”. 

Kun smiles as he feels himself getting choked up with emotion. He and Taeil have been married for 5 years and dated for 8 but he still feels like a boy with a school crush. Every day, he falls more and more in love with Taeil and when he thinks he can’t anymore, he just falls in love all over again with the man in front of him. His tears cascade down his face as Taeil swipes his eyes tenderly and closes the gap between them. He kissed him softly on the lips, tasting the saltiness from Kun’s tears. Kun melted against his lips and closed his eyes as they moved their lips in harmony. They broke their kiss as Taeil thumbed away his remaining tears and kissed him gently on his nose. Kun blushes slightly as he rests his forehead on Taeil’s, smiling at each other. 

“I love you too Hyung. Thank you for being my home”

~✽✾✿❀❁❃❋~✽✾✿❀❁❃❋~✽✾✿❀❁❃❋

Taeil felt tears cascade and burn against his face as he sobs quietly into his hands. His chest tightness and ache for longing for the same happy family he was once a part of. Every day hurts so badly without Kun. He didn’t notice Chenle came up behind him and jumped a little bit when he felt something hug his leg. 

Chenle looks at his dad with concern as Taeil scoops down and picks him and kisses the crown of his beloved son’s head. 

“Daddy? Why are you crying? Does your tummy hurt?”

Taeil digs his face into his son's shoulder and cries quietly, too emotional to even answer his son’s question. Chenle clumsily tries to wipe away Taeil’s tears and awkwardly rakes his tiny hand through Taeil's hair such as how the latter did whenever Chenle was upset. 

“Daddy, Do you miss Papa?”

Taeil feels his knees go weak as he sobs loudly. He lowers him and Chenle into the sand, cradling the younger boy tightly as his whole world depended on it. He was afraid that if he let go, his son would disappear from his life just like Kun did. 

“YES I DO BABY”. 

He felt like his heart was going to pop out of his chest. Taeil felt both hot and cold at the same time as he felt himself slowly losing control, his mind yelling incoherently multiple things at him all at the same time. 

He felt Chenle tighten his arms around Taeil’s neck as the younger began to cry. Taeil suddenly understood why Chenle wanted to come to the beach. 

“You wanted to come here because you miss him too. Right baby”?

Chenle whispers brokenly as his tears fell onto Taeil’s shoulder. 

“I-I miss Papa too. You look really sad this morning and I wanted to make you smile like how you did when Papa was with us every time we came to the beach”. 

Chenle pauses as he cries even harder. 

“H-h-he isn’t coming home right daddy”?

Taeil felt his whole world crash once again. It felt like he was replaying the nightmare of the day that they found out Kun was no longer with them. 

He choked back tears as sobs were threatening to rip out of him. His heart palpitates sickeningly against his chest.

“I’m so sorry baby. Daddy is really sorry”. 

The wind of the ocean engulfs them softly as they embrace each other. Taeil wails as he holds onto the last living piece of Kun he had left in this world. It never got easier. He misses Kun so badly. Living without him was a living nightmare and if he could turn back time, he would spend every single second reliving with Kun. Back with his once happy family

The last words of Kun echoed painfully through his head like a broken cassette as he cradles closer to Chenle. 

“Thank you for being my home Hyung”

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO EVERYONE!
> 
> ISTG IF I HEAR KUN SAY "GIVE ME THAT NECTAR" ONE MORE TIME, I WILL THROW MYSELF INTO A WELL OF HOLY WATER. 
> 
> hi everyone! I hope everyone is doing well and is enjoying the NCT 2020 comeback. KUNIL STANS WE ARE BEING FED??? so much HAS happen since we last seen each other :) This one-shot was actually inspired by the "from home" MV. I am so sorry if it is messy or just not well written as it was a "4 am idea" thing I wrote in 8 hours so constructive criticisms will be greatly appreciated! I promise that the next oneshot and the next chapter of "You Are My Soulmate Remember" are alot lighter so please look forward to that. It's almost 5:30 AM and I'm about to fall asleep on my keyboard lol and I prolly sound like i am just rambling. So with that being said, I hope you guys enjoyed this and thank you so much for the support! I'll see you in the next one! \
> 
> (UPDATE: I might be creating a sequel so 0_0 )
> 
> -ASC ❀◐⌣◐


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